Beyond Medication Community Group

In this group we will be looking at alternative or supplementary methods of dealing with every day stressors and anxiety. This is for people who do not want to feel as though they do not want to be tied to the medicine cabinet. We will be using such techniques as mindfulness, meditation, grounding, guided imagery, Yoga and other behavioral and self-discipline techniques...

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Anxiety Disorders
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How to Respond

arfie
arfie
What are some effective ways to respond to folks who want to get off medications? My instinct is to try to help them, but I am far more ignorant than a subject dodging doctor on what these drugs are, much less their effects on the human body. Withdrawal from them has produced some downright frightening results. Internet searches for pros who do understand and are willing to help have come up severely anemic.

Any experiences? Ideas?
Group Founderwiccanwolf1
wiccanwolf1
Good topic Arfie,

Unfortunately not one that I'm going to be very helpful on, hopefully there will be others who can better answer this question.

I have always had a very high drug tolerance with very low side affects when coming off of them so I always been able to stop cold turkey w/o much concern with reactions.

My recommendation is to do it with a Dr.'s supervision, if your pdoc won't work with you. go to your family Dr. and tell him/her what you want to do. Even if they disagree with your choice, they will work with you. They know the dangers of coming off these medications and will not make you face them alone.

WW

This is absolutely not recommended as it can be dangerous, even lethal with some meds.
arfie
arfie
I have never used ANY medication for more than a few consecutive months, so I am not sure my suspending usage ever qualified as "cold turkey." I used them as crutches and losing a crutch is a whole different animal than losing a sustained dependency.

The fatal flaw in the Dr-'s supervision advice is that it might be easier to find a flying horse than a doctor willing to supervise the withdrawal. The hunt for either mythical creature is quite expensive.

Sigh.
deleted_user
deleted_user
doctors are simply your advisers... Education about the condition you suffer from is the answer to your question... i think we tend to over look the subtle lifestyle changes that are hinted or suggested when doing research... like eliminating salt ....for example... you actually have to do your home work and make simple changes to your buying habits and go through all of what it takes to see the benefits of what it actually does for you ... this is just one thing as an example... we have to be proactive about our health... the info is there... when we work around the commercialism ... and buckle down and get serious ... things start to turn around ...
didn't mean to fall off your topic
arfie
arfie
Not too long ago, we had a beautiful young woman hanging from the trees without looking the least bit sexy after she educated herself on the dietary approach to getting off medication. She is also quite brilliant. I have no doubt her research was all the latest greatest and verified six ways from Sunday. However... Hanging naked from trees was one of the more intelligent of the results.

More and more I think it needs a managed detox program.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I think slow and steady is the answer. And exercise, eating whole and natural foods and lots of water. Spirituality is vital, and journaling helps. Cut down slowly. I did it with my pdoc supervising, but not approving. Still, he acknowledges I am better now than before, and probably he overmedicated me. What an understatement!
arfie
arfie
That understatement is sadly near the latest norm. My bowl a day illegal herb habit looks allot tamer now than it did a decade ago.
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